A Kunoichi's Thoughts
by Dro1189
Summary: The Kunoichi gather to talk about random things when Naruto is brought up. The Kunoichi give their thoughts on what they think of him. Ino wants to date him and Sakura sulks. Eventual NaruSaku, but there's NaruIno, NaruTen, and NaruTema along the way.
1. Good Memories, Bad Memories

**A Kunoichi's Thoughts.**

**CHAPTER 1**

**Good Memories, Bad Memories**

"Good morning Sakura-Chan!" Naruto yelled in his sing song voice while running up the road to meet his pink-haired friend. Sakura peeked out from behind her book and looked at her teammate. Naruto.

The most annoying, but best friend a person could ever hope to have. As she looked at him she eyed his features, no longer was he the scrawny boy who reeked of ramen. He was a young man. Although she never thought of Naruto that way before, she thought that he had grown quite handsome in his time away from Konoha. The problem with her noticing Naruto's change was that the other kunoichi had too.

_**FLASHBACK: THREE WEEKS AGO**_

Sakura, Ino, Tenten, Temari, and Hinata had gathered at the Yamanaka Flower Shop to relax. Temari was in town on her monthly visit from Suna to see if Konoha needed anymore help rebuilding after Pain's brutal attack on the village.

Gaara had insisted that if they needed anything at all he would help out, no problem at all. The girls were making jokes, laughing at some of their teammate's antics and having a good time. Suddenly Ino, out of nowhere, asked..."So, I know this happened a while ago and all but...Has anyone noticed how much Naruto has changed since he got back?"

'What the Hell!?' thought Sakura 'Why did Ino bring Naruto up?' as she sat there surprised at her friend's antics, the next thing surprised her even more.

"Of course I've noticed! He's changed quite a bit. No scratch that! He's changed _immensely_! He sure has gotten quite handsome." replied Tenten.

"...and tall" added Temari.

"...and compassionate." chirped Hinata.

'Huh? Where the hell is this coming from all of the sudden?' Sakura asked herself. 'I mean, I know Hinata professed her love for him, but he put her down gently when he said that he wouldn't be able to return that love. But what about the others?' Sakura continued drifting in her own little world when she was forcefully dragged out by an annoying voice.

"Hey Sakura! EARTH TO FOREHEAD, HELLO!!!??" Ino yelled into Sakura's left ear.

"OW INO-PIG! That hurt!"

"Sakura you spaced out, are you feeling OK?" asked a concerned Ino.

"Huh? Oh, me? Yeah, I'm fine"

Ino looked at Sakura and could tell something was definitely bothering her, but decided to get to the bottom of things later.

"Anyway, let's get back to Naruto. Has anyone here seen him without his shirt?" asked a curious Temari.

"Yeah, I can tell he's gotten pretty built especially after his sage training." added Tenten who had a dreamy look in her eyes as she pictured a shirtless Naruto picking her up bridal style and putting her on a riverbank.

"Yeah I've seen him. Jeez, he looks like one of those model from those fashion magazines." replied Ino. As soon as Ino said this the room got quiet and everyone stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

"How is it that you've seen a shirtless Naruto, Ino?" Temari, who was grinning, asked her fellow blond ninja.

At this Ino blushed.

"No! It's not what you think! I was the one who treated him after his fight with Pain. I mean I was bound to see him like that at some point. And then like a week later I went to check on him while he was training, and...uh...well...he..."

"C'mon Ino! Spill it already!"

"Fine...fine...When I went to check on him, he was...he was takingabathinthestream" Ino said so quickly that no one caught exactly what she said.

"What was that again Ino?" asked an even more curious Temari.

"Naruto was taking a bath in the stream." a defeated Ino replied.

"WHAT!?" yelled Tenten, Temari, and Sakura, while Hinata 'eeped' and blushed a new shade of pink.

"I didn't see anything, I swear! The second I noticed he was naked I blushed so much that I passed out for a bit. I woke up to see Naruto standing over me, he had put a wet cloth on my forehead to help wake me up." Ino smiled a little before continuing. "The dolt thought that I was in trouble or something, he seemed so worried. At least he had the decency to put some clothes on before he helped me out, I think I would've died of embarrassment if he hadn't been wearing pants."

"Of embarrassment? Or of blood loss Ino?" Tenten slyly asked her flustered friend.

Ino glared at Tenten. "Shut up! This is serious! Now I can't get that knucklehead out of my mind! I don't know what to do, he invades my thoughts, my dreams, I see him everywhere, I need help!"

Sakura was shaken to the core. She had no idea that anyone, would ever think of Naruto that way. Especially not other ninja. Sakura started to think about what Ino had said. Ino did have a point in that he was in very good shape, she had seen him many times without his shirt on and on more than one occasion caught herself staring longer than she should've, but she would never admit that to anyone. Sakura once again left her mind scape when she heard Temari's voice.

"Listen Ino, if you really can't get him out of your head, maybe you two should go out on a date or something" advised Temari. "I had the same thing with that lazy asshole of a Chunin. After our first meeting I couldn't get his lazy antics out of my head, they consumed my every thought. When I saw him that second time and saved his ass from that Oto nin, I decided then and there that he was an interesting guy, and that I would like to get to know him better."

"Well I guess I could go out with him, but only if it's OK with Hinata and Sakura." Ino looked at both of the kunoichi in question as she said this.

Hinata, who was still trying to recover from the images of a naked Naruto yelped at the newfound attention she was getting. "Uh...well...you see Ino-san..." Hinata stammered but then she realized something she should have realized a while ago. She began speaking once again minus her stutter. "You see Ino-san, my feelings for Naruto-kun have turned to those of respect, rather than those of love. I should have realized this before. In all reality I just want Naruto-kun to be happy, and if you are the one who can do that, then I will be very grateful. So, in regard to your question, Naruto-kun is all yours, pending Sakura-san's answer of course." Hinata smiled and turned her attention to a now very self-aware Sakura.

Sakura was still reeling from both Ino's wanting to date Naruto, Hinata's confession, and both of them seeming to know something about Naruto and Sakura's relationship that Sakura herself didn't even know.

"What about you Forehead? Is it OK with you if I date Naruto?" Ino asked her longtime friend and rival.

Sakura was dumbfounded once again. Why was Ino asking her? Before she could process the information she found herself replying. "Pfft...You can date that Baka if you want" as soon as those words left Sakura's mouth, she regretted them instantly, but found herself wondering why.

"Yeah Ino, and if things don't go so well between you two, I'll take a crack at him" replied an overly enthusiastic Tenten.

"I might also give Naruto a test drive if Shikamaru decided to be lazy this week" added Temari.

Everyone laughed and continued talking, minus one Sakura Haruno. She once again stared off into space wondering what she had done.


	2. The Sudden Question

**A Kunoichi's Thoughts.**

**CHAPTER 2**

**The Sudden Question**

Sakura once again found herself spacing out with her memories. She thought of what had happened three weeks prior at the Yamanaka Flower Shop. When she finally jumped back into the world, she was looking right into Naruto's sky blue eyes. She jumped back in surprise and let out a small 'eep'.

"Eh, Sakura-chan? You were spacing out again, you didn't even say 'hi' to me when I got here. Are you feeling ok?" Naruto asked.

"Don't scare me like that BAKA!" Sakura shouted and cocked her fist back. She then infused her fist with chakra and thrust it towards poor Naruto's face.

Naruto saw his life flash before his eyes. He saw the time that Ichiraku Ramen had an overstock and gave out free bowls of ramen. He saw the first time he laid eyes on his pink-haired teammate and how he knew she was the girl for him. But that was it, that's all he saw. He waited for the pain to come, but there was none.

'What the hell?' thought Naruto. 'Where's the pain? Where's the bleeding? Where's the bright light at the end of the tunnel?' Naruto opened his eyes and saw Sakura looking at him with the cutest smile he had ever seen.

"See Naruto? It's not nice to scare people." Sakura scolded she give him another cute smile and looked down at her book again.

"Neh Sakura-chan, that wasn't very nice." Naruto said while giving Sakura a pout.

Sakura looked up from her book and couldn't help but smile at her teammate's childish antics. Kami, did everything he do make her smile? Naruto only did things that he saw would help the situation, sometimes his ideas would be insane and make things worse, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Just then team Kakashi's interim leader showed up. "Good morning Naruto, Sakura" said a happier than normal Yamato. He looked at them both and smiled a bit more when he realized that they didn't even notice that he had arrived. Both were looking at each other with an expression that resembled one more fitting of a person in a coma. "I guess it's time to wake them up" he mischievously said to himself as he created a wood clone.

'Sakura-chan's smile is so perfect, her hair looks so smooth, and when she stares at me it makes my heart melt. I just wish I had a chance with her.' Naruto continued this train of thought until, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something staring at him with huge ghost-like eyes. He snapped out of his thoughts and focused on the unknown figure.

'Naruto's smile brightens up my day, his hair is so vibrant, and his eyes are so full of life. Why couldn't I see this before? How is it that the others noticed it so quickly, and yet took me so long to finally realize?' Sakura's thoughts were suddenly broken when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She snapped out of her thoughts and focused on the unknown figure.

"GAAHHH!!!" yelped both ninjas. Naruto and Sakura were both so freaked out by Captain Yamato's ghost-stare that they fell to the ground in surprise. Naruto was the first one to get back up. He pointed an accusing finger at Yamato. "STOP DOING THAT!" Naruto yelled at his interim sensei.

"I agree with Naruto, Captain Yamato. There should be an easier way to get our attention than scaring the crap out of us." Sakura huffed while dusting herself off.

"Well this seemed to have worked just fine. Maybe next time you'll be alert instead of comatose. Anyway, are you guys ready for Hokage-sama's mission?"

"Hai" replied both ninjas,although they were still upset at Yamato.

"OK then we're off." and with that all three ninja jumped into the treeline and made their way to their rendezvous point.

Sakura, Naruto, and Yamato arrived at their destination. They looked around and spotted team Gai working a little ways down the road from their current position. Naruto smiled when he saw Rock Lee working while preforming a handstand.

"Maybe I should start training like that" Naruto said while starting to go into a handstand.

"Naruto-BAKA! If you even think about doing your work that way I'll knock some sense into you." shouted a glaring Sakura.

"OK, Sakura-chan, OK!" Naruto responded with a hint of fear in his voice.

Yamato sighed at how childish the youngest members of Team Kakashi could act at times. "OK!" started Yamato. "Let's get to work!"

_**THREE HOURS LATER**_

Naruto was setting up the wooden framework for a house when he heard a familiar cheerful voice. He created a few Kage-Bunshins to hold up the frame he was currently working on.

"Naruto-kun!" shouted an enthusiastic as always Rock Lee.

"Hey! Bushy Brows! How are you?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, I'm fine. Our team just finished up over there and wanted to see if you guys needed an extra hand, what with Sai out of commission and all."

Naruto frowned at the mention of his other teammate. That emotionless bastard had picked the wrong time to try and become compassionate and almost gotten himself killed in the process. A week ago Sai had burst into a burning building that apparently had a child trapped inside. The problem was that instead of a child, it was a senile old hag's pet turtle. 'Oh yeah' thought Naruto. 'Sai's never gonna hear the end of this'

"Hello Naruto-kun!" spoke another voice. Naruto turned his attention to a very tired looking Tenten.

"Hello Tenten. Hey you look tired, are you OK?" asked Naruto.

"Oh me? I'm fine...just a bit exhausted from all this work." answered a blushing Tenten.

"Yeah, it's hard work, but someone has to do it, right?" Naruto gave his trademark grin while responding.

Tenten only nodded at his remark as she had other thoughts in her head. 'Boy oh boy does he look good today' she thought. 'I wonder if Ino has asked him out yet? I wouldn't mind going out with him myself.'

Sakura had finally finished her task and decided to take a short break to restore some of her strength. She stood up and began to stretch out her limbs when she noticed Lee and Tenten talking to Naruto. Sakura raised her eyebrow questioningly and walked towards the group.

Naruto's face instantly lit up when he saw Sakura. "Ohayo Sakura-chan! How has your job been treating you?"

Sakura smiled, "It's been tough work. I hope you haven't been slacking!" Sakura accused.

"Who me? Of course not Sakura-chan! I'm working as I speak. Look! I have clones helping me out." Naruto grinned again when he heard Sakura snort and start giggling at his antics.

"So! Naruto-kun! Has Ino talked to you recently?" asked a very curious Tenten. "I heard she wanted to ask you about something important."

Sakura's giggling instantly ceased when she put two and two together and remembered what that 'something important' that Ino wanted to talk to Naruto about was. She perked her ears in anticipation to hear Naruto's response.

"Uh, no. Ino hasn't asked me anything recently. I actually haven't seen her since I brought her to the hospital after she passed out that one time."

"You brought her to the hospital? Why would you do that? I thought she just passed out?" asked Lee.

"Well you can never be too sure. I mean 'Swine Flu' has been running rampant here in Konoha recently." said Naruto in a matter-of-fact way.

Tenten laughed, she couldn't hold her tongue back anymore..."You know Naruto, if your not too busy after this maybe you and I could-."

Tenten was cut off when a few loud ' _**poofs **_' erupted from a few feet away. Naruto's reflexes kicked in and he pushed Tenten, Sakura, and Lee out of the way. Just as he did, the wooden framework that his clone had been holding up came crashing down on him.

"NARUTO-KUN!" yelled both Tenten and Lee.

"NARUTO!" screeched Sakura, she quickly got in medic nin mode and started barking out orders. "Tenten go to the hospital and tell the nurses to prepare a room for Naruto!"

"Hai!"

"Lee, help me get this heavy thing off Naruto!"

"Hai!"

Sakura and Lee lifted the home's wooden frame off of Naruto. Sakura tied her hair in a ponytail and began checking Naruto for any injuries. When she found none she decided it was safe to move him and get him to the hospital. Sakura gently picked him up and put him on her back.

"Lee go inform Yamato about what happened here, and tell him that we'll be at the hospital."

"Hai, Sakura-san!"

*******************

"Uggh..." Naruto slowly opened his eyes and instantly shut them when his eyes were bombarded with the florescent light of a hospital room. "Wha-what happened to me?" Naruto asked himself aloud.

"You were knocked unconscious when you pushed us out of the way of the house frame and it fell on top of you."

Naruto looked up to see Sakura staring at him with a worried expression on her face. He felt bad for making her worry.

"Gomen Sakura-chan, I didn't want you getting hurt on my account"

"What do you mean 'on your account'?" asked a now interested Sakura.

"It's my fault that the house's frame fell like that," started Naruto. "My idiot clones should've been holding it up but they dispersed for some reason."

Sakura started wondering what could've caused his clones to react that way. As the wheels in her mind started turning, Ino's loud and obtrusive voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Ino yelled as she ran into the room and came to a halt next to Naruto's bed. "Are you okay? How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?" Ino kept bombarding him with questions.

"No, no, I'm okay Ino. Calm down. Just got a nagging headache."

"Oh right. Gomen Naruto, gomen." Ino said apologetically.

"It's not a problem Ino." Naruto suddenly seemed to remember something, "Ehh, Ino...Tenten said you had something important to talk to me about. What is it?"

Ino's usually bubbly face went pink at the subject. She had wanted to ask Naruto for a while now about that date but had found herself trying to avoid him until the time seemed right.

Sakura was still confused, she knew that Ino was going to ask Naruto at any moment, and that she herself (although accidentally) had told Ino that it was fine if she dated Naruto, but she couldn't help but feel jealous. 'Why would I feel jealous? Have my friends really seen it? Am I really that readable? Am I really falling in love with Naruto?' Sakura was once again forcefully yanked from her inner thoughts by Ino's voice.

"Well, you see Naruto..." Ino looked at Sakura before continuing. "Umm...have u felt any abnormalities in your chakra since Pain's attack?

'What the hell?' Sakura asked herself. 'Why isn't Ino asking him out? I thought that she's been wanting this for a while now. What's with this question all of the sudden?'

"Now that you mention it Ino, ever since the transformation into 8 tails and my father strengthening the seal, my chakra has been in constant fluctuation...Sometimes I feel like I can topple a mountain, yet other times I feel like I can barely walk."

Sakura blanched at the new information. Naruto was sick? Why hadn't he said anything? Now it was Sakura's turn to ask the questions.

"Naruto, why haven't you said anything about this before?"

"Well, I spoke to Ma Toad about it. Her thought on it is that because of the three different types of chakra I used in the short amount of time my body is trying to adjust and is expanding its chakra coils to try and adapt to it." Naruto looked directly into Sakura's eyes before starting again. "Plus I didn't want anyone to worry much about it, Ma Toad said it really isn't too big of a deal and that I would actually become stronger than before because of this."

Ino nodded, "I had my suspicions what the cause could've been. That was the one I thought was most probable."

Sakura blushed when Naruto looked directly at her. She thought she had him all figured out, but recently she found out that she actually knew very little about her teammate. She found herself wanting to know more about him, and she wasn't going to let anyone take her chance at getting to know him. Suddenly Sakura heard Ino speak again, but this time she didn't sound like she was going to ask about his health.

"So Naruto, once you feel better and and get discharged" Ino paused once more, but looking into Naruto's now confused face helped her make her decision. "Umm, well...Once you feel better, do you want to maybe...go out sometime?"


	3. Is This a Date?

**A Kunoichi's Thoughts.**

**CHAPTER 3**

**Is This A Date?**

"What was that Ino?" asked a now very confused Naruto. 'Did she just ask me out?' he wondered. 'Why would Ino want to go out with me?'

"I asked you if you wanted to go out some time, Naruto."

Naruto wasn't the kind of person who was easily intimidated (except when he was near Sakura), he would take on a whole army of Oto-nin without a moment's hesitation if he needed to. For some reason though, Naruto started feeling extremely nervous. He began stuttering as he asked his next question.

"D-d-do you mean like on a date, Ino?" Naruto stammered.

"Of course silly, what else could I possibly mean?" replied Ino while giving him a small yet provocative smile.

Naruto didn't know how to respond to Ino's request. His eyes were for Sakura only, but he didn't want to hurt his other friend's feelings by rejecting her offer. 'One date couldn't hurt, right?' Naruto pondered. 'Besides, Ino's not that bad.'

"Besides Naruto, you owe me for taking such good care of you after your fight with Pain." Ino said while playfully smacking Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto had always thought of Ino as quite attractive, her platinum blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail had always seemed to fascinate him. Plus she wasn't a bad person, she cared for her teammates and looked out for them. Sure she could be shallow sometimes, but she was Naruto's friend and good friend's are always able to look past other's shortcomings.

"So, Naruto, what do you say? Wanna go out with me sometime?" Ino asked again.

'Say no, say no, say no...Please say no' Sakura tried to forcefully send her thoughts into Naruto's brain, and for once in a very long time, Sakura actually felt jealous of Ino's ninja abilities.

"Sure Ino, I'll go out with you." he answered.

Ino squealed a little at the response. 'He said yes! He said Yes!' she thought. As Ino continued to mentally jump up and down at prospect of dating the blonde knucklehead, Sakura was alone with her thoughts.

'Why was I so stupid? I took too long, I've lost my chance. Naruto's gonna see that there are others out there that can offer him their love, and forget all about me.'

"So, Naruto? When do you think that you'll be up and running?" Ino asked him, she was back to her bubbly self now that she had gotten the awkwardness out of the way.

"Uh...well...I kind of wanted to get some Ichiraku Ramen later today, and finally catch up on some sleep tonight. I don't have any missions tomorrow though, so how does tomorrow sound?"

Ino huffed. 'I guess the order still goes Sakura, Ichiraku Ramen, Shinobi duties, and finally his own enjoyment.'

"OK, Naruto." she sighed, "How about I meet up with you at your house around 1:30 tomorrow afternoon? Does that sound OK?"

"Sure thing Ino!" replied an enthusiastic Naruto.

Ino nodded. "See you tomorrow Naruto-kun!" As Ino walked past Sakura, she whispered in her ear.

"I need to talk to you about something, meet up at my house after you go to Ichiraku Ramen." Ino smiled and walked out of the room.

'What the hell is she talking about? I'm not going to Ichiraku Ram-' her thought was interrupted by Naruto.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Wanna join me at Ichiraku?" He was wearing the biggest smile on his face.

'Damn that Ino! How does she know exactly what Naruto and my relationship is? I'll make sure to ask her when I see her later.'

"Oh, sorry Sakura-chan, I didn't mean to bother you. I'll just be on my way to Ichiraku." Naruto's genuine smile had left his face and been replaced by a fake one when Sakura had ignored his question. Naruto got up from his hospital bed, put his ninja sandals on, and headed towards the windowsill so that he could jump out.

The pink-haired girl instantly realized what she did and cried out after Naruto.

"No, Wait!" Sakura yelled too quickly for her liking, "Err, I mean...Sure I'd love to go to Ichiraku with you." Sakura smirked and continued, "Besides, I wanna have a talk with you about not telling your best friend and teammate about your chakra fluctuations." Sakura glared at her now nervous companion.

"OK, Sakura-chan!" declared Naruto, "There's also a few things that I want to talk to you about too."

Sakura was only able to think about Naruto's response for a split second before she was picked up bridal style by him and he jumped out the hospital window.

"HEY! Put me down Naruto! I can walk on my own!" Sakura fumed.

"You picked me up and brought me to the hospital when I got knocked out earlier, consider this your reimbursement." Naruto once again had his ear to ear grin.

"Wait a minute, how did you know I was the one that carried you here?" Inquired a now very curious and embarrassed kunoichi.

"Well, I may have slipped in and out of consciousness a couple of times before we reached the hospital. Plus I kind of enjoyed the ride, it was very warm and comforting, so I wasn't going to complain." Naruto admitted.

Sakura smiled, and started to giggle at Naruto's behavior. She continued her fit of laughter until she felt her feet touch solid ground.

"We're here!" Naruto announced.

Sakura smiled at Naruto when he put her down gently, "Thanks Naruto, even though it _was_ unnecessary."

Naruto brushed off Sakura's remark with a smile, "So, Sakura-chan...are you ready for the most delicious food to ever grace your taste buds?"

Sakura snorted at his comment, "Pfft, nothing beats syrup coated anko dumplings and umeboshi. Now _those_ are 'the most delicious foods to grace my taste buds.'" Sakura said with her best Naruto impression.

"Sakura-chaaan! It's not very nice to make fun of people." he complained while giving her a pout.

Sakura started to laugh again, as they entered Ichiraku Ramen.

"Besides..." Naruto continued, "You can pay for both of us next time."

"What? Wasn't the carrying me here enough for you to consider us even?" baited Sakura.

"In all reality Sakura, I thought of that as more of a reward to myself for pushing you guys out of the way of the falling house." explained Naruto.

His response had caught her completely off guard, she had never expected Naruto to be so...playful. 'Is this the Naruto that others have seen? Is this why he's so popular among the other kunoichi now?'

"NARUTO-KUN!" exclaimed Ayame. "It's always a pleasure to have you as a customer, will you be having the usual?"

"Believe i-" Naruto was cut off when Sakura clamped one of her hands over his mouth and used the other to whack him over the head.

"Naruto-BAKA! If you EVER, and I mean EVER, say that again I will rewire your taste buds so that you will be unable to ever taste Ramen again." Sakura threatened.

Naruto gulped at the thought of losing his taste for ramen. 'She can't really do that...can she?' Naruto thought. 'Regardless, I can't take that chance.'

"OK, Sakura-chan!"

"So the usual for you, Naruto, and what will your pretty date be having?"

Sakura blushed at the 'pretty date' remark while Naruto grinned nervously.

"I'll be having the vegetarian special Ramen." said a still blushing Sakura.

_**EIGHT HOURS LATER**_

Naruto and Sakura had finished their Ramen hours ago, and were strolling through a barely occupied Konoha while discussing some of their prior missions. After their late lunch at Ichiraku the pair had decided to have a night on the town and just stroll through it going in and out of the newly built shops.

During their walk they remembered that there was a fair going on in town, it was the first public gathering since Pain's attack, so it was sure to have a lot of people gathered.

They had spent a few hours at the fair and left to pick up some food at Sakura's favorite place for anko dumplings. Sakura had paid for both of their meals.

"_Naruto, I'm going to pay for this. You said yourself that I owed you for saving me from the frame falling on top of me." Sakura stuck out her tongue at him as she said this._

Naruto smiled at the memory from a couple of hours prior. As he and Sakura reached their destination he stared at his longtime crush. He had hoped that one day he and Sakura could go on an official date, much like the one he was going to have with Ino tomorrow. The duo stopped on top of Hokage mountain, and looked down at the now mostly sleeping village.

"Beautiful view, don't you think so Naruto?" asked Sakura as she peered out over the village.

Naruto, who was looking at Sakura at the time, responded, "You have no idea how beautiful it is."

Sakura didn't notice Naruto's gaze transfixed on her, but she did notice how high up the moon seemed to be.

"Shit! I have to get home, Naruto. My parents must be worried sick!"

Naruto checked the moon's location and chuckled a little. 'There goes my plan for catching up on my sleep. Well, at least I got some time alone with Sakura-chan, so it was definitely worth it.'

"Well Naruto, I had a lot of fun today. We should do this more often." Sakura admitted.

"I really enjoyed myself too, Sakura-chan, and we will definitely do this more often." assured Naruto.

"OK then, Naruto. I'm off"

"Wait, Sakura-chan!"

"Yes Naruto?"

"Umm...I wanted to ask...di-did you...I mean..." Naruto once again faltered in his search to find the correct words, "did we just go out on a d-date?"

Sakura grinned as Naruto's usually confident demeanor turned into one that matched a pile of mashed potatoes. She smiled as she came up with the answer.

"It's whatever you consider it to be, _Naruto-kuuun_." Sakura cooed as she jumped down the Hokage memorial and made her way home.

'It's things like those that make me want to end up with her.' Naruto happily thought to himself. Naruto jumped off the stone monuments dedicated to the greatest ninja in Konoha history and headed home for some much needed rest.

While jogging home Sakura remembered that she was supposed to have spoken to Ino after eating with Naruto, but she had been so engulfed in the good time she was having that it had completely slipped her mind. 'Oh well, I guess it's going to have to wait until tomorrow. It probably wasn't _too_ important if Ino was willing to wait until I was done with Naruto.'

A blonde haired kunoichi started to think about her best friend and rival, 'Oh Sakura, you should've showed up today, now you're gonna learn the hard way.' With those thoughts she fell asleep dreaming about a certain blonde ninja.

(A/N: I _could_ end the chapter here to be mean...but I did promise some folks that this chapter would have the Ino date, so prepare for my longest chapter yet XD)

*******

Naruto woke up late the next day. He looked at the clock and saw that it was already 12:30.

"Fuck! I don't have much time left to get ready for my date with Ino!" Naruto jumped out of his bed and started scooping everything up off of the floor with his arms. He heaved the assortment of dirty clothes, empty ramen cups, scrolls, and shinobi weapons into the nearest closet. Naruto rushed to the kitchen and put a pot of water on the stove. As he waited for the water to come to a boil, Naruto scanned his humble abode and sighed when he saw its state.

"It's still no good, even though I put away the mess, this place still looks like a disaster area, besides, I still need to wash this place up." As soon as the words left his mouth Naruto got an idea.

"_KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"_

Naruto created three clones and gave them instructions.

"You, sweep the floors and make the bed! You, wash the dishes in the sink, and make sure that everything that's supposed to be in the refrigerator is. You, clean the counters and as soon as the one who's sweeping is finished start to mop the floors."

"Hai!" replied the three clones, "But, what about you?" asked clone number two, "don't tell me you're just going to be lazy and sit there all day!"

"No, of course not! I'm going to eat my breakfast and take a shower so I can be ready in time."

'Yeah, he gets to relax while we have to do all the work.' the clones grumbled to themselves.

*******

Ino was awakened by the sound of her alarm clock.

"Dammit! I forgot to turn that stupid thing off! I was having such a good dream too."

_INO'S DREAM_

**Ino's dream had her and Naruto in a very precarious position. Ino and Naruto had gotten caught in the rain on their way back from their date. Since Naruto's new apartment was closest they decided to take shelter there while the storm subsided. They sprinted through the storm, stepping in every puddle on the way there. They reached Naruto's and rushed indoors, safe from the rain.**

"_**So Naruto? Now that I'm in your apartment you're not going to try and take advantage of me are you?"**_** Ino asked her fellow blonde.**

"_**INO-CHAN!" **_**Naruto complained, **_**"Do you really think of me that way?"**_

**Ino laughed at Naruto's reaction, 'He is so easy to fool sometimes.' Ino looked over at Naruto and continued laughing when she saw him pout.**

"_**What are we going to do in the meantime, Naruto?"**_** asked an interested Ino.**

"_**Well, I guess we could watch some television in the meanti-"**_** Naruto was interrupted by a bolt a lightning and a clap of thunder shortly thereafter. The electrical surge knocked out his power. **

"_**Well I guess there goes THAT idea."**_** he sulked**

**Ino giggled at his downtrodden expression, or at least what she thought was downtrodden, she wasn't able to tell in the dark. 'I had I wonderful time today, but I wonder if I'll get the chance to kiss him.'**

"_**Ino-chan, we should probably get out of these wet clothes, I wouldn't want you to catch a cold."**_

**'Bingo...there's my chance' she slyly thought to herself.**

"_**I agree Naruto, but I'm going to need some help with this dress." **_**she said seductively.**

"_**Wh-what was that Ino-chan?" **_**gulped Naruto.**

"_**I said...I'm going to need some help, Naruto-Kuuuun"**_** Ino made sure to emphasize the suffix at the end of his name.**

**Ino walked over to the now very confused Naruto, and pulled her dress up slightly, showing off her long, sultry legs. She lightly placed her hand on his defined chest and traced his zipper with her index finger. Naruto shuddered at the contact. Ino saw her chance when Naruto had looked way for a split second, and moved in for the kiss. She could feel the sharp intake of his breath when he noticed her proximity to him. Ino was about to put her lips onto his. She inched closer and closer, she was an eyelash's length away...**

_BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ_

"Dammit! I forgot to turn that stupid thing off! I was having such a good dream too."

Ino snatched her alarm clock from the nightstand and heaved it into the wall.

"Crap, now I'm going to have to buy a new one." she groaned.

Ino gathered up the items for her morning ritual, stumbled out of her room, and wandered into her bathroom. As she undressed for her shower, her mind was fighting itself. It was almost like the time that she had been forcefully expelled from Sakura's mind during the Chunin exams. Sakura. The pink haired medic-nin had been one of two thoughts jockeying for position in her mind. The other thought being those newly acquired feelings she had developed for Naruto.

"Damn that Sakura. If only she used that big head of hers for something else besides advertising space, she would've known that I had to talk to her as soon as possible." Ino grumbled to herself.

Ino stepped into her shower and turned the water on. The cool water splashed onto her face and made her shiver from head to toe, but it achieved the desired effect of waking her up. As Ino's body got used to the temperature, her thoughts shifted to a certain blonde ninja. Ino felt a tingle run up and down her back, and it wasn't from the water.

*******

"AH! That was delicious!" Naruto said as he slurped up the last of his Ramen.

Naruto gulped the remaining milk in his glass, and wiped away his milk mustache. He decided to go check on his clones since he could hear a lot of yelling coming from his living room. As he stood up he glanced at his clock.

'Oh Shit! Only half an hour left...I gotta take my shower NOW!' he thought.

Naruto sprinted down the hall, removing articles of his clothing along the way.

*******

Ino had more than enough time to get ready for her date, her alarm clock had woken her up at 9:30. After her shower she had picked out her dress for the date and spent the next two and a half hours putting on her makeup and doing her hair. She ate a small breakfast and watched some television to pass the time before her date. At one o'clock Ino left her apartment to get to Naruto's in time.

Ino walked up to Naruto's door and knocked.

'I hope he's ready.' she thought.

When the door opened Ino didn't know how to react, either laugh hysterically...or get extremely mad at the baka...Naruto was standing in front of her wearing the stupidest apron she had ever seen, it was pink with white flowers scattered about and a few naruto ramen toppings near the middle. In bold black type at the very center of the apron it read, 'Me so hungry? MISO RAMEN!'

How is he not ready? I said I would be here around this time, and what does he do? He waits to get ready until the last possible moment.' Then Ino's playful side kicked in, she started to snicker at Naruto's silly appearance, and forgot all about her anger directed at him.

"Nice apron, silly. I never saw you as the cooking type." teased Ino.

She playfully smacked him in the arm and was surprised when Naruto '_ poofed _' out of her sight. She was confused at first but spotted the other two clones looking at her with hurt expressions.

"Why'd you kill me Ino? We didn't do anything bad." said one of the clones while giver her a pout.

'I see that he isn't as irresponsible as I thought he was. He surprises me more and more everyday.'

"So I see that you guys...err...I mean..._you_ are busy, where's the real blonde knucklehead?" Ino asked the two remaining shadow clones.

"Oh him? He's right..."

"HERE!" yelled an unexpected voice from behind her.

"AHH!" screamed Ino, "NARUTO-BAKA! YOU SCARED THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME, DON'T DO SHIT LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN, YOU COULD GIVE ME a...heart...at...tack."

Ino was unable to express anymore anger at Naruto when she realized his state of undress. He wore his usual orange pants and had a towel slung around his shoulders which he was using to dry his wet hair. He was shirtless and still damp from his recent shower, the sun peeked its way through his window and gave his body a golden aura that shimmered like the sun. For the second time in a month, Ino fainted.

*******

Ino slowly woke up from her impromptu nap and sighed. 'Dammit all, I have to find a way to stop fainting around him like that. It's embarrassing."

"Glad to see you up!" Naruto began, "I told you to take that fainting problem of your seriously, I don't want you getting hurt."

'Kami he's so clueless. Whatever...this works to my advantage anyway.' she thought to herself.

"How long have I been out?" she asked.

"Not long, only like fifteen minutes or so. If you're feeling better I suggest we leave soon. After all, you wanted to get lunch not dinner, right Ino?" Naruto chuckled.

Ino stuck her tongue out at Naruto, "Yes, I'm feeling much better...so, let's get a move on. Oh yeah, and unless you want the female population swooning over you for the rest of the day, you should probably put a shirt on."

Naruto chuckled again at Ino's observation, "I dunno Ino, maybe I'd like that attention."

"Naruto-baka, stop being a pig. You better be joking." Ino warned.

"Don't worry Ino, I'm not that type of person." Naruto assured while putting on a black t-shirt with a red Uzumaki swirl symbol in the middle.

"Ok Naruto, let's go."

_**TWO HOURS LATER**_

Ino and Naruto had gone to Ino's favorite restaurant in Konoha, it was a nice sit down place where many couples liked to go for a nice afternoon lunch. There were tables situated both indoors and out. Since it had been a nice day they decided to eat their food outdoors. They had talked about many things when the subject shifted to one that greatly interested Ino.

"Hahahaha...Oh Kami! I can't breathe, I can't breathe!" Ino roared with laughter at the newfound information, "So you're telling me, that Sakura Haruno, student of Kakashi Hatake, apprentice to the Godaime Hokage, and elite medical Kunoichi, is afraid of a harmless little _toad_? Oh Kami! I'll make sure that she'll never hear the end of this...hee hee hee."

As Ino continued her laughter Naruto realized his mistake. He paled at the possible outcome of what such info in Ino's hands would mean for poor Sakura. Naruto grew even more concerned when it finally dawned on him what it meant for his own health and well-being once Sakura found out that it was him who spilled the beans.

"Please Ino, don't use this against her! She's very sensitive on the subject, besides, she'll know that it was me who told you, and be very, _very_ upset. She may even try to kill me. Please, I beg of you, do not mention this to her. I'll do anything, just don't tell Sakura-chan!" Naruto pleaded to Ino.

"Anything? You don't mean '_anything_', do you Naruto...?" Ino cajoled.

"I didn't mean it like THAT Ino, you have a dirty mind." he responded.

"Do not!" Ino playfully feigned a hurt expression and stuck her tongue out at him.

"So, Ino, what do you say...can you keep this between me and you? Pleeeease?" he urged.

"OK OK, but you owe me one Naruto." Ino cheekily said to her date.

"Consider this an I.O.U, Ino." he replied.

Fifteen minutes later the pair finished their respective lunches. Naruto paid the bill, much to Gama-chan's(1) dismay, and they got up to leave. As they started down the street they heard a familiar boisterous voice.

"OY! NARUTO! INO!" the voice called out.

Ino and Naruto turned around to see Kiba, Hinata, and Akamaru walking towards them.

"Kiba! Akamaru...! Hinata?" Ino was confused to see the Hyuuga heiress walking so close to Kiba. It was almost like they were on a...

"Eh...Hinata? Are you and Kiba on a date?" the ever intrusive Naruto asked without a hint of subtlety. Ino wondered whether the word 'subtle' was even in Naruto's dictionary.

"Yes, Naruto-kun. Kiba-kun and I are on a date." smiled Hinata.

"WOOF" barked Akamaru.

"Well, congratulations Hinata! Kiba, even though he smells like a toilet, is a good catch." said Naruto.

Kiba glared at Naruto, "Watch yourself, you wouldn't want to smell like dog urine for the rest of _your_ date, would you Naruto?"

Naruto turned ghost white at the possibility of having to walk around the rest of the day reeking of piss.

"What about you guys, have you been enjoying yourselves? Has Naruto been the perfect gentleman?" teased Kiba.

"I can't speak for Naruto, but I have been having a wonderful time, and yes, Naruto has been the perfect gentlemen." responded Ino while giving him a small smile.

"I'm having a good time too, Ino. This has been one of the best days in a very long time for me." said Naruto.

Naruto was both surprised and happy with Ino's response. 'She's having a good time? All we've done is eat and talk about dumb things. I'm happy she's been having a good time though.'

"Well, Hinata and I have a date to continue on with. Enjoy yourselves!" announced an enthusiastic Kiba.

As they walked away Hinata broke away from Kiba's arm and walked up Ino.

Hinata started whispering into Ino's ear. "I'm very happy to see that you and Naruto-kun are having such a great time. Oh, and in regards to the the subject we spoke about yesterday...I'll be more than happy to help you out in that." Hinata winked at Ino and ran off to rejoin Kiba.

Ino smirked. 'Things are starting to look up. Hopefully neither of them will catch on.'

"So, Ino-chan...want to continue on with our date, or has it been too unbearable?" Naruto joked.

"BAKA! You know that I said that I was having fun! Stop being difficult." scolded Ino.

Naruto gave her his patented grin and held his arm out as an invitation for her to take it. Ino smirked and wrapped her arm around his. The pair walked down the street arm in arm, laughing all the way.

*******

It had started raining and the pair of blondes had to rush to Naruto's apartment to hide from the unexpected storm.

'This is just like my dream' Ino thought. 'I wonder if it will turn out the same way though?' Ino had a devilish grin on her face as she said her next words.

"So Naruto? Now that I'm in your apartment you're not going to try and take advantage of me are you?" Ino asked her fellow blonde.

"INO-CHAN! Do you really think of me that way? " Naruto complained but then got another idea, "SEE, I told you! You _DO _have a dirty mind."

"HEY! Watch what you say around the person who holds your well being in her hands. You wouldn't want Sakura finding a toad in her room, tracing it back to me, and finding out that you told me about her fear of toads, would you Naruto-kuuuun?" Ino made sure to emphasize the suffix at the end of his name this time around too. 'Just as I thought, it has the same affect as it did in my dream.'

Naruto was now very confused and intimidated by Ino's sudden forwardness. 'I wonder what's making her act like this all of the sudden?'

Ino walked over to Naruto and lightly put her left hand on his right shoulder. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered...

"You know Naruto, I would actually like to claim that I.O.U now." She seductively whispered into his ear.

"Wait, what do you me-."

Naruto was cut off by Ino's lips crashing into his and softly caressing his lips with hers. Her tongue found its way into his mouth and traced the sides of Naruto's tongue.

Naruto's eyes widened at the events that transpired. As Ino broke the kiss she looked at Naruto's expression. She felt guilty at first for forcing herself on him like that, but knew that it was something she must do. 'I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but I had to know. Now I'll be able to know what to do after this situation is cleared up.'

"I-In-Ino ch-ch-chan?" began a now bewildered Naruto.

"Looks like the storm has cleared up, Naruto. I had a fantastic time today. This has been the best day since after Asuma-sensei died, and I'm eternally grateful to you for that. I'll be on my way now Naruto, and don't worry...Sakura's secret is safe with me. My lips are sealed..." Ino smiled evilly once again, "Unless of course you don't want them to be." She winked at him and started out the door. Ino changed her mind and turned around to peck a still very confused Naruto on the cheek.

Naruto, who had remained glued to his spot, was only able to utter a few syllables as a goodbye.

"See...y-you...I-I-Ino...ch-chan."

Ino shut the door behind her and sighed. 'I'm so...so sorry, Naruto-kun.' She walked down the steps and headed home, her thoughts once again on a blonde headed ninja.


End file.
